Kings of New England

Glory to God in the highest and peace to his people on Earth for the Red Sox have won the World Series. It has probably been the most exciting week of baseball in my life and I’m happy the Red Sox have finally won. What follows are some thoughts I had while watching Game 4:

Johnny Damon with a leadoff homerun – yep, he’s Jesus!

Why are they showing Boston fans in a New York bar? It’s traditional to show fans at a bar in the opposite city during what could be the last game of the World Series, but shouldn’t they have found a bar in Boston? The Red Sox are still a Boston team, right?

In FOX’s ongoing quest to ruin baseball with the ironic addition of pop songs, they played that Bonnie Tyler song while showing shots of the lunar eclipse. Here’s a tip for FOX: if I can think up the same ideas you are paying people to work on, it’s probably time to either find some new people or just hire me instead. I guarantee that I’ll work cheaper and will never suggest you play “Sweet Caroline” after the last game of the World Series (this actually happened last night).

The 2004 St. Louis Cardinals have to be one of the biggest disappointments ever. This will get overshadowed by the fact that the Red Sox finally won, but this team was the best team in baseball this year and they have looked horrible in these four games.

Did the guy from Creed just sing “God Bless America”?! Was Collective Soul already booked? Did it fall through with Johnny Rzeznik? Could they not work out Gavin Rossdale’s contract rider? Sheesh! That was just embarrassing.

What the hell were Jimmy Fallon & Drew Barrymore doing kissing on the field after the game? I realize they have some Red Sox-themed romantic comedy coming out soon, but this is just as bad as the announcers conducting an “interview” with a fictional character from a beer commercial during Game 3. That has to go down as one of the worst moves by a network ever in covering the World Series. Whoever accidentally cut to a black & white porno during the pregame show in 1989 is officially off the hook.

As bad as FOX’s coverage of postseason baseball gets, it still can’t hold a candle to the trashy spectacle that is the Super Bowl. Only three more months until then! More importantly, only 4 more months until the most glorious words of the year: pitchers and catchers report.

I'm Afraid the Children Are Our Future

Something funny from mcsweeney's:

I'm Afraid the Children Are Our Future
BY JOHN MOE

I'm seeing them again this election season. Little headlines in parenting magazines, mentions in the preschool newsletter, even casual comments in the e-mails of friends who have small kids. "Vote for your children," they say, or "Vote for kids!" or "Cast your ballot for the future generation." I know they mean well. All they want is for this country to be a good place for our youngsters, clean environment and quality schools or whatever. But they have no idea what a dangerous game they're playing.

Two years ago I was like these people. My son Pete was 4 years old and my daughter Lucy had just turned 2. I wanted them to have every opportunity in life and I thought it not just important but crucial for me to campaign on their behalf. "I'm voting for my kids," I'd say to anyone who would listen. "I'm casting my vote with Pete and Lucy in mind." How could I have expected what happened?

As all voters know, a lot of people heard me back then and overwhelmingly agreed with my sentiment. Lucy won an unexpected majority of votes, all write-in, and was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Four-year-old Pete, meanwhile, was declared the surprise winner of the vacant Senate seat at 9:15 that night, an hour after passing out during yet another viewing of his well-worn Dora the Explorer videocassette. Without ever knowing that they had run, and without even knowing what the institution was, my kids were members of Congress.

Breakfast the next morning was awkward as we tried to convince the kids to eat their scrambled eggs and fruit even while they fielded questions from the crew of reporters that had waited in our carport all night (no, we told the news crews, we won't wake up the newly elected). Within days, my wife and I had quit our jobs and were toting the two sleepiest and crankiest new policy-makers in Washington around D.C. trying to find a decent apartment within stroller range of their offices. While we waded through resumés and were beset by lobbyists, trying to assemble not one but two congressional staffs, my wife would often repeat my words back to me in a harsh and mocking tone: "Vote for the kids," she'd say, shrilly; "I'm voting for my kids!" Her acrimony was deserved.

I must admit that even knowing them as I did, I held out hope that the kids would accomplish something. Sure, I had seen stubborn refusals to take baths, violent reactions to an improperly cut sandwich, and hysterical fits based on the necessity of leaving a given playground. None of those bode well for a career in public service, I knew that, but maybe the kids' innocence and lack of guile would actually be a plus since they were beholden to no one and incapable of animosity. Did they quarrel? Sure, but it never turned into lingering grudges. Plus, I suspected they were both geniuses, although that's just a dad thing.

Of course, the disastrous consequences of Lucy's first term and the first two years of Pete's are matters of public and congressional record and have been well chronicled, scathingly so, in our local papers. Pete's legislative failures include the ill-advised "I want to be a stegosaurus" bill, the doomed "How about a purple floating house that eats space?" legislation, and the notorious "Everyone should have 14 dogs" plan that, despite getting some support from a few niche industries, was roundly and justly ridiculed long before it reached the floor. His tenure almost ended abruptly when a new dump truck presented by a crafty NRA lobbyist very nearly resulted in the most dramatic rollback of gun-control laws this country has ever seen. Pete got off with a public rebuke and a long "time out" for that one, although what was left of his political credibility was destroyed. Not that the senator cared.

Lucy's performance, if this is even possible, was worse. While other members of the House were positioning themselves on committees and trying to serve their constituencies, 2-year-old Representative Lucy mostly stayed in her office, repeatedly putting the yarn-haired doll to "bed" while demanding that her staff read her Barney Goes to the Pet Shop. Again. Votes during session were even more embarrassing, as Lucy pretty much mimicked the vote of whoever was sitting next to her. Over time, House members looking to score one extra crucial vote would try to sit next to Lucy, partially to gain her vote and also, I suspect, because they kind of liked having her cuddle up in their lap. While Lucy amassed an increasingly opulent dollhouse empire thanks to moneyed political action committees, companies packed up and moved out of her district, incurring not the slightest objection from Washington. Needless to say, neither Lucy nor her brother Pete did a thing to help the cause of children in general, aside from the fleet of ponies that were unexpectedly appointed to Pete's old daycare.

So now it's two years later. Maybe Pete will be ready for re-election when he's 10 years old and his term expires, although I'm certain he'll do nothing in the next four years to deserve anyone's votes, especially now that he's discovered the Power Rangers. But I do know I'll be voting for almost anyone before I vote for Lucy. Not only is she the most incompetent representative our district has ever had, but teacher Deana says she looks tired and unfocused in preschool. As Election Day looms, voters are again being told to "vote for our kids." I say, fine. Go ahead, vote for your kids. Just please don't vote for mine.

Chief Justice William Rehnquist Has Cancer

The cancer appeared as four flashy rectangular-shaped strips on either side of his thyroid.

The Passion of the Red Sox

Curt Schilling says God helped him win Game 6, but it was Jesus who won Game 7:



The Yankees-Red Sox game wasn’t close, but it was exciting. I still can’t believe the Red Sox came back from loosing the first three games of the series to beat the Yankees, in Yankee Stadium! Johnny Damon (pictured above) hit two homeruns, one of them a grand slam. The Yankees couldn’t do anything right. All of Steinbrenner’s off-season signings failed to come through (unless you count Kenny Lofton going 1 for 3 with an RBI). The two big starting pitchers he signed gave up 8 runs. A-Rod and Gary Sheffield went 0 for 8. Oh, it was a joyous day in Mudville for the mighty Yankees had struck out. Now the Red Sox go to the World Series for the first time since 1986.

The Astros-Cardinals game was also outstanding. It was a back-and-forth battle and the Astros tied it in the 9th inning to send it to extra innings, but the Cardinals won with, you guessed it, a walk-off homerun. I hope the Astros win tonight. Then I hope they loose to the Red Sox…in seven games.

Dear Prudence, Won't You Come Out to Play?

Aden and I played outside on Saturday for a long time. At one point we were on the swings side by side and he saw me leaning back in the swing. He said, "Daddy leans back in swing." He says stuff like that all the time now. Everything has a running commentary from a 2-year old at our house. Anyway, Aden started leaning back in his swing too. After he did it the first time he said, "The sky is blue." I told him he was right and then I leaned back in my swing and said, "The sun is up." When you say short, kid-like sentences Aden likes to repeat them. This is how the rest of the conversation went:

Me: The sun is up.
Aden: The sun is up.
Me: The sky is blue.
Aden: The sky is blue.
Me: Can you say, "it's beautiful"?
Aden: It's boo-full.
Me: And so are you.
Aden: And so is Aden!

I laughed and he started laughing too. Then he said one of his favorite sentences, "I'm so funny!"

Scientists Slash Estimated Number of Human Genes

In the process of narrowing the number of human genes, scientists have given up on determining which specific genes do the following:

• Makes you a lover, not a fighter
• Makes you believe it tastes great
• Makes you believe it's less filling
• Makes you enjoy prop comics
• Makes you believe your vote counts
• Makes you wanna holla'
• Makes it easy on yourself, 'cause breaking up is so very hard to do*
• Makes you forget about Poland
• Makes you think "irregardless" is a word
• Makes you rationalize buying Sheryl Crow albums
• Makes it all okay**
• Makes you think bunting on a pitcher with a gimpy ankle is unsportsmanlike, yet slapping the ball out of the pitchers hand while running to first base is perfectly acceptable
• Makes you seriously consider buying the new William Shatner album

*Jon, if you are reading, the Burt Bacharach reference is for you, buddy

**I told you I listened to the new R.E.M. album too much

The Ho Spin Zone

I'm sure you've all heard about the charges against Bill O'Reilly. I can't say that I was shocked. I don't really need proof that O'Reilly is a creep, but if you do, here's a fascinating look at his show.

How About That! or My Epic Baseball Post

After my quick rebound from the Braves annual first-round bounce from the playoffs, I decided that I was going to spend the last few weeks of the baseball season enjoying the games no matter what happened. I was hoping for wins from the Astros and the Red Sox; however, both teams dug themselves an early hole. The Astros losing the first two games in St. Louis and the Red Sox shooting themselves in both feet by loosing the first thee in a best of 7 series.

What happened next is both exactly what I predicted and exactly what I thought wouldn’t happen.

The Astros won three in a row at home and will play Game 6 tonight in St. Louis. I hope it goes to a Game 7, but after the dramatic, one-hitter, walk-off homer win in Game 6, it’s going to be hard for the Cardinals to stop that momentum. It will help them that the Astros are sending Pete Munro to the mound and holding Roger Clemens for a possible Game 7, but I’m not sure it will be enough. I hope the Cardinals can win tonight because nothing is as exciting as a Game 7.

The Red Sox have won three games in a row (two at home and one last night at Yankee Stadium) that have been the most gut-wrenchingly flawed, yet beautiful games ever played. If the Braves had been the Red Sox in these games, I would have officially been declared dead sometime Monday night. “I’m sorry, m’am, but it appears that your husband has died from a lethal combination of stomach ulcers and heart palpitations. It’s unusual, but it happens.”

As it is, I have been put through the emotional ringer watching these games because I do want the Red Sox to win for a few reasons:

• I hate the Yankees. Nothing big or earth-shattering about it, I just hate them. I hate them because they can buy whatever all-star they need to fill a hole in their line-up at any time they want, yet they think they are just another team. I hate them because it’s my team that let their little magic-streak begin back in 1996. Shudder. I hate them because the breaks always go their way (until last night). I hate them because when I was growing up, the Yankees weren’t a factor; they sucked and I grew attached to their history and actually liked them for a very long time.
• I would like the Red Sox fans to stop whining. There’s nothing worse than hearing fans of the team with the second-highest payroll in baseball constantly crying about the team with the highest payroll beating them. If they beat the Yankees I hope it will stifle the yipping a bit.
• I also don’t like hearing about the curse. There is a certain charm to it, but I don’t like hearing about it constantly. So, you haven’t won a World Series since 1918. So, you traded the greatest baseball player ever to your rivals. So, you continue to loose in the postseason in a heart-breaking manner. So what! Welcome to everyone else’s world, except the Yankees. If they beat the Yankees and then win the World Series, that has to end the curse talk, right?

Last night’s game got really interesting. Fist of all, the Red Sox sent one of the greatest post-season pitchers of the last decade out there with a dislocated tendon in his ankle, an injury so severe that his season was declared over after he pitched in Game 1. Apparently the folks at Reebok said, “Just slap this high-top on him and he’ll be good as new,” and the Red Sox said, “Uh, okay.” Turns out those Reebok guys either knew what they were talking about or Curt Shilling has all the strength, determination, and competitiveness of a Gabe Kaplan at the Battle of the Network Stars circa 1976. He pitched a solid 7 innings only giving up one run. The Yankees countered with Jon Lieber. Lieber is not an intimidating pitcher, but he did take a shut-out into the eight inning of Game 2 in this series. He pitched fairly well last night only getting into trouble in the fourth inning, but that was enough. In that fourth inning he gave up what was clearly a homerun to everyone watching except for the umpire who called it a double. The ball clearly went over the fence, bounced off a fan, and then back onto the field. Luckily the umpires conferred and everyone agreed that it was indeed a homerun and that they would definitely be eating at Mindy’s after the game.

After Schilling gave up a solo-homer to Bernie Williams in the seventh, yet getting 3 outs on feeble ground-outs or pop-ups, it was up to the worn-out Boston bullpen to hold the Yankees at bay. You could just feel the disappointment coming, especially when the first guy out of the bullpen was Bronson Arroyo. Never mind the fact that Arroyo pitched a perfect inning in relief the previous night, it just didn’t seem like a good decision to bring him in. You could just see one of those classic Yankee comebacks brewing; of course it probably would have felt that way regardless of who Terry Francona sent to the mound. Here’s how it went down: First, Tony Clark strikes out (sigh of relief). Then Miguel Cairo doubles (Crap! It’s happening.) Derek Jeter singles, Cairo scores, it’s 4-2 (Fucking Jeter!). Next Alex Rodriguez grounds the ball weakly between the mound and first base. Arroyo fields the ball as he is heading toward first base trying tag a speedy A-Rod. Arroyo transfers the ball from his bare hand to his glove and then tries to tag A-Rod with the glove for the out. All of a sudden the ball flies out of his glove and down the right-field line as Jeter scores, 4-3 Red Sox. Oh, no! There it is. That’s the curse. It’s all over now, but wait – how did that ball get out of Arroyo’s glove? Well, A-Rod, the highest paid player in all of baseball, a player who just had to get out of Texas and onto a winning team, a player who was a mere inches away from becoming a member of the Red Sox during the off-season only to become a Yankee a few days later, yes, that A-Rod slapped the ball out of Arroyo’s glove! How freakin’ bush-league can you get? Fortunately, the umpires conferred again and this time all of them agreed that A-Rod should be called out on interference, Jeter has to go back to second, and someone should definitely call ahead and make sure Mindy’s would have a table available. (Whew!) After the umpires signal their decision, the crowd started throwing baseballs and debris onto the field. The Red Sox manager pulled his players from the field and the Yankees followed suit. There was much discussion amongst the security people and umpires and their decision? To bring out cops in full riot-gear to guard the right and left field lines! This game had everything! Finally Gary Sheffield pops up to end the inning.

To top off the game, the Red Sox closer came in to pitch the ninth. He walked two guys, but otherwise preserved the 4-2 lead and the Red Sox are forcing a Game 7 after falling behind 0-3, something that’s never happened in baseball before.

So, are the Red Sox just torturing their fans and, in turn, all of the Yankee-haters too? We all find out tonight. I sure hope the game is a good one, but I can’t imagine what they haven’t already done in this series. There have been blow-outs and close ones; come from behind victories and pitching duels; injuries and reversed calls; rowdy fans and riot gear; extra-innings and walk-off homeruns. If anything happens to top this, then it will definitely be considered the best ALCS ever. I just hope it isn’t a heart-breaker, except for the Yankees.

Review of "Around the Sun"

I couldn't have said it any better myself. Honestly, I've tried. I have spent way too much time trying to come up with words to actually "review" this album instead of just rip it a new one. I would occasionally hit upon some things I liked in the album, but overall it just made me so mad that I couldn't be objective. This review is the closest to what I think about ATS. It will have to take the place of my planned album review because I have already grown tired of listening to the album in an effort to find meaningful and constructive words to write.

George Lucas to Receive Life Achievement Award from AFI

As if we needed any more reasons not to take the American Film Institute seriously.

Christopher Reeve, Stem Cells, & Kerry/Edwards

Some Republicans are claiming that John Kerry/Edwards are exploiting the death of Christopher Reeve. Having read both of Reeve's books and having read numerous speeches that he has given since his accident, in no way do I believe that they are exploiting his death. Sure the quote from John Edwards* make me a bit uneasy because it is political grandstanding, but there's no way that it should be considered exploiting his death when he is championing a cause that Reeve himself was passionate about.

What makes me even more upset than the claim of death exploitation, is the claim by Republicans that Democrats are giving false optimism with their talk about what further research with embryonic stem cells might eventually cure. Yes, it is optimism, but how can you claim it's false when you don't even support research that would explore the possibilities. Seems to me that the conservative opponents of this research are making sure that it will always remain false optimism by restricting the amount of stem cells available for research. What will happen if further research is done privately and that research leads to cures for paralysis, Alzheimer, etc. What could possibly be the Bush team's response to that: "Oops, we're sorry"? And W said, "I never want to impose my religion on anybody else." To me this is a perfect example of our President's warped leadership motto of "What Would Jesus Do?" strangling medical advancements for, not anybody else, but for everybody else.

It's sad that Christopher Reeve died, but it's sad in a whole different way for Republicans than it is for you or me. While I mourn the loss of someone I admired and who was a part of my childhood, they mourn the fact that a beloved American figure that opposed their ideas has died so soon before the election. They mourn the thought of not having a death on their side that they can "exploit". If only Ronnie could have held on a few more months.


*"If we do the work that we can do in this country, the work that we will do when John Kerry is president, people like Christopher Reeve will get up out of that wheelchair and walk again."

For the Benefit of Mr. Kite, There Will Be a Show Tonight on Trampoline

I don't know what to think about this.

Been In Trouble With the Law Since the Day They Were Born...

This has got to be the strangest cast ever put together for a movie.

You've Got Hate Mail!

I got my first piece of hate mail from The Undertoad. You can check it out here. Apparently someone in the middle Georgia area did a search on their friend (or possibly relative), Judy Kluge. My blog came up and they didn't appreciate my words on the race between Kluge and Kushinka. I guess my description of Ms Kluge's billboards didn't go over well either. Also, they seem a smidge bitter from her loosing to Mark Kushinka. For some reason I'm proud of the hate mail. I don't think I would be as proud if it were well written or even had a modicum of correct punctuation. Anyway, read and enjoy.

Things That Could Make the Final Presidential Debate A Lot More Interesting

• Bush utters the following, "My pansy-ass opponent doesn't see it that way..."
• Kerry stops answering questions and just gives specific examples of how the Bush team contradicts itself. Also, whenever the President speaks, Kerry constantly mutters "flip-flop-flip-flop" under his breath. When asked to stop he replies, "What? I wasn't saying anything."
• Bush starts speaking Spanish for a good solid 15 minutes
• Kerry starts speaking French for a good solid 15 minutes
• Moderator does not care or even bother to ask the candidates to speak in English
• Group of third party candidates breaks into the room SWAT-style and "do some justice"
• While shamelessly complimenting each others families again, Kerry says of Laura Bush, "I'd do her."
• While shamelessly complimenting each others running mates, Bush says of John Edwards, "I'd do him."
• After being asked for the millionth time in the past 3 years if he would like to own up to any mistakes, Bush says, "Look I can't personally make mistakes when every thing I say and do is fed to me through this earpiece." Then he yanks out the earpiece and storms off the stage.
• Something of substance is actually said

Funniest Thing I've Read About the Last Debate

The only way you could say Bush won this debate was by failing so utterly during the first debate, that voters were simply encouraged to see him walk without the assistance of the light-up sidewalk from the "Billie Jean" video.

It's These Little Things, They Can Pull You Under...

The Braves are out of it again. I am usually furious about this every year. I'm a very calm person usually, but the baseball playoffs will bring out the worst in me. (The following quote from Kevin Costner in Bull Durham reflects my traditional playoff attitude: "Well, fuck this fucking game!") I am very calm right now though. Maybe it's because they were so bad at the beginning of the year that it was a bonus to even make it this year. Maybe I'm maturing (I doubt it). I really think it had a lot to do with the news of Christopher Reeve's death. I loved the Superman movies as a child. They were my Star Wars. Okay, well at least the first two were. If you think about it, the Superman series has a better ratio of good movies to bad movies though. I think there are two great Superman movies and two great Star Wars movies. When it comes to bad movies though, there are only 2 bad Superman movies. We're at 3 bad Star Wars movies and counting (feel free to disagree with that, but I won't promise to take your arguments seriously). Moving on...

I have so many positive associations with Christopher Reeve. He was the star of the first movies I ever loved. He is the man who I always picture as Superman. He is the first person I was aware of as an actor. I don't remember when I stopped thinking Christopher Reeve was Superman and started knowing he was just pretending, but it was definitely him that I first thought of as an actor. I was very upset when first hearing about his accident and have followed his progress very closely. I always thought that Christopher Reeve would steadily recover. I didn't know if he'd be the first person they "cured", but I always thought he would slowly regain control over his body. I hope he finally has that control now and I have to believe that he does.

One more note: I haven't seen anything on tv about his death, but I certainly hope they are not using that horrible Five for Fighting song when running the story.

R.I.P. Christopher Reeve

It Won't Be Long, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah...

Today the Braves won and the Falcons lost. I certainly thought that would be the other way around. I'm happy it turned out that way though. Of course it would have been better if they had both won, but with a Falcons loss they didn't have to go home and stop playing for the rest of the year.

Before today I had been pleasantly surprised with ESPN's coverage of the Braves in the NLDS. I don't like 3 people calling a baseball game, but Jeff Brantley, David Justice, and that other guy did a pretty good job. Although today all three of those guys were gone and ESPN brought in their regular Sunday Night Baseball crew of Joe Morgan and Jon Miller. These two guys are horrible. It is not unusual for me to watch Sunday Night Baseball during the season with the television on mute. Jon Miller is a bit too goofy for my taste. He also has a strange way of pronouncing foreign player's names. He doesn't try to do it with an accent, he still uses "white guy voice," but he over-annunciates. So Rafael Furcal comes out, RAH-FEE-EL FOR-CALL! Very annoying. Joe Morgan's mortal enemy must be silence. The man will not shut up. In my opinion the best announcers in baseball will shut up at the most important times and let the action speak for itself. This does not happen with Jon & Joe. If you didn't know, Joe Morgan was a member of the Big Red Machine in the 1970's. And if you did already know that, it would still be constantly reinforced by Joe himself during any game he announces.

As bad as Jon & Joe are, they don't even hold a candle next to Fox's Tim McCarver and Joe Buck. These guys are bad enough without being on Fox, but Fox feels the need to enhance their ineptitude with crazy graphics, unnecessary camera angles, and irritating sound effects. Watching a game on Fox is like having a nine-year old child whose on day 10 of a 5-day supply of Ritalin read you the boxscore.

Anyway, I hope the Braves win tomorrow. The game will be on Fox, so my mute button finger will be itchy.

Go Braves!!!

Laugh About It, Shout About It, When You've Got to Choose...

Two really quick, really inconsequential things about the second Presidential debate...

1. Bush said internets. Yep, plural. It's really nitpicking, but it just sounded like something my grandmother would say. She always adds an 's' to things that don't need it and even will take away an 's' every once and a while from something that needs it. Here's a perfect example from an actual conversation I had with my grandmother a few years ago:

Me: Grandma, where did you have lunch today?

Grandma: We went to the Arby in front of K-Mart's.

That's just beautiful. I love her so much. I'll translate for the grandmother impaired though:

"We went to the Arby's in front of K-Mart."

What was I talking about? Oh, yeah! The debate...

2. Kerry namedropped Superman and Marty McFly in the span of 30 seconds! That's talent.

I challenge anyone to come up with two more important observations on the debate. Go ahead, I'm waiting...

For Scott & Mike

I stumbled upon this today. It's about Joseph "Doom & Gloom" Arthur, the guy who opened up for Wilco in Atlanta. From www.popmatters.com :

Joseph Arthur, Our Shadows Will Remain (Vector) Joseph Arthur will be one of a handful opening acts for R.E.M. later this year and for good reason. This album begins with "In Ohio" that sees the musician channeling Brian Wilson through a Neil Young vocal. But he shifts gears instantly with "Can't Exist", a roots-cum-gospel feel that sounds like a poor man's U2 behind a lovely wall of sound. Fans of Hawksley Workman would cling to the slower and darker "Stumble And Pain" with it orchestral touches but Arthur gets mired too much in the thick hip-hop backbeat near the end. If you could envision a gin-soaked Richard Ashcroft or the Stereophonics' Kelly Jones, you would get the soul-pop gist behind "Devil's Broom". "It's hard to stay alive when you don't know how to live," he sings. The highlight is the somber "Echo Park" that is his best "Unplugged" song this far but "Even Tho" smacks of being a smidgeon too Meat Loaf-ish slick. Another strong tune is The Cure-like "Puppets" that comes off quite sweet. "Failed" has ambient touches and is quite minimal for the usually eclectic musician. Fortunately he gets the album soaring again with a harder, grittier "I Am". It's another quality album from one slowly moving out from under the shadows! — Jason MacNeil

There's a Swingin' Town I Know Called Capital City...

If you haven't heard already, the Montreal Expos are moving to Washington, D.C. I think it's horrible what happened to that ball club. They would have ended the Braves streak of division titles if the strike hadn't taken place in 1994. We'll never know what could have been for Montreal. They could have won it all that year and got a new stadium built in Montreal because of their success. As odd as it may sound to a casual baseball fan, Montreal will always be an important baseball town. It's the first town where Jackie Robinson played minor league baseball. That alone will always keep baseball and Montreal linked. Major League Baseball has handled the situation about as well as you'd expect them to, which is to say they've botched like a DH playing shortstop. Regardless, they are moving the Expos to D.C. now. I hope it works out. I would like the team to be renamed. I sure hope they don't revert to the Washington Senators. I'm hoping for the Washington Grays in honor of the Negro League team that once played in our captial. But if you can't be nice and respectful, you might as well be cute or snide:

The Washington Talking Points
The D.C. Rhetoric
The Washington (Policy) Wonks
The Washington Neocons
The D.C. Lobbyists
The Capital Steps
The Washington Monuments
The Capital Punishment
The Washington Bleeding Hearts
The National Archives
The Washington Watergates
The D.C. Independents

Any other suggestions?

Short People Got No Reason...

After the debate last night I decided to quickly flip through all of the channels to see if there was a standard media consensus. There was, but I was surprised that most of it was about what was said instead of how the two candidates acted. Well, then I turned to the Fox News Channel. At 10:39 p.m. Brit Hume was not talking about the differences in opinion on Iraq or the war on terror. He wasn't talking about North Korea or bilateral talks. Brit was talking about how Bush might have seemed weaker than Kerry because of the camera shots. He commented (i.e. complained) that Kerry was taller than Bush and therefore when the camera was on Kerry, the entire screen was full. In the shot there was podium, Kerry, and very little space between Kerry's head and the top of the screen. However, with Bush there was podium, Bush, and a significant amount of space between Bush's head and the top of the screen. Now, unless I have read something wrong, Fox News got to play cameraman for the entire media last night. It was their video feed that all the other networks received and then directed that feed from the Fox cameras accordingly. Could it be that Brit was making excuses from what he initially preceived to be a poor performance by the President? Certainly we all know on which side Brit and Fox's political bread is buttered. Could it have been too early after the debate for Brit to have received the official "Kerry is still a flip-flopper" rote response from the Republicans? Oh, gee. I'd hate to imply that Fox News is in the collective Republican pocket. Wait, no, I really don't hate that at all. Poor Brit was out there live after the debate having to go it alone (without talking points) and what did he do? He thought he needed to defend the President against a strong showing by Kerry and he did so by saying it wasn't fair that Bush is shorter. Good job, Brit. Good job, Fox. I certainly didn't hear those pansies at CNN or MSNBC talking about height differences in the debate or attacking the quality of the camera work, even though it was done by your network. Keep fighting the good fight, FNC, you are certainly doing the Lord's work.